


All Together Now

by critterlady



Series: Tamara NSFW [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But It's For A Good Reason, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Oral Sex, Past Brainwashing, Vaginal Sex, deliberately triggering the Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 00:51:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9468167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/critterlady/pseuds/critterlady
Summary: James grows closer to Tamara as the three of them work out their relationship. James becomes more protective when Tamara gets in a fight but in the end, his compromise over her safety gives him more freedom.





	

Several days after the discussion regarding counseling, Steve and James were in the gym sparring when they felt something they couldn’t explain; a sudden painful twinge in the stomach, almost as though they had been punched. Both men shrugged it off, at least for a few minutes. By then, they were seated, taking a break so to feel as though someone had punched them in the jaw confused both of them. 

Steve was the one who caught on first. “JARVIS, where’s Tam?”

“She left the tower earlier for a shopping trip. Shall I contact her?”

“Can you pull the data from her chip?”

“Both her respiratory rate and blood pressure are higher. In addition, I am recording a spike in her adrenaline levels.”

Steve headed out the door, James following him to the armory where he grabbed an ICER, handing it to James before arming himself. “Notify the others and give me a location.” He tossed an earwig at James as they headed for the lobby.

JARVIS provided an address that was less than two blocks from the tower. They barely made it to the lobby before one of the doors opened and Tamara walked in. Her hair was falling down, pulled loose from the bun she had thrown it in that morning. Her jacket was missing and the right knee of her jeans was torn open, revealing bloody skin underneath. Dirt smudged her face and she was limping as she crossed the floor. 

Before security could move to assist her, James and Steve were pulling her close, hiding the ICERs in the process. Tamara tried to protest but she realized they needed to reassure themselves. “I’m fine guys, really.”

“You don’t look fine, what happened?” 

“I had a disagreement with a guy who thought he owned his girlfriend. He lost.” Tamara tugged at the hole in her jeans, pulling it away from the scrape on her knee. She almost dropped her backpack in surprise when James swung her up into his arms.

“Let me down James, I’m fine.”

“You are going to medical!”

“I’ve had worse in training. I’m fine! I just want a warm bath right now.”

He ignored her protests and stalked towards the elevator, Steve right beside him. Tamara tried unsuccessfully to force him to set her down but she had no chance at all. Thankfully, James only insisted on her knee being looked at. Jake cleaned the scrape and when James insisted on a X-ray, he complied with a small smile. Finally someone who could make Tamara cooperate. 

As the trio entered their apartment, JARVIS was beginning a warm bath. Tamara’s stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had missed lunch. Steve moved the kitchen as James followed Tamara towards the bedroom. He added epsom salt to the tub as she stripped her clothes off in the bedroom.

By time time Steve carried in a tray of snacks and drinks, Tamara was already stretched out in the warm water. She eyed the tray of fresh fruit and juice before reaching for an orange. James beat her to it, peeling it quickly and offering her a slice. Tamara nibbled the slice, the juice running down her chin.

James watched, resisting the urge to lick the juice off as he continued to feed her slices. Steve began to untangle her hair and she leaned into the contact, letting his hands caress her scalp. Her hands kept busy, sweeping the washcloth over her body, removing the blood and dirt. James and Steve could both see bruises beginning to mar her tanned skin and they shared a look above her head as she finished cleaning up. The sound of water running out the drain brought the attention of both men back to Tamara.

“We need to talk.” 

Tamara stopped drying off at Steve’s stern statement. “OK, living room?”

“You are going to lie down and listen while we talk.” James snapped out before Steve could respond. 

Tamara reached out to James through their bond, feeling how turbulent his emotions ran. She just nodded before pulling on clean shorts and a top. Steve vanished out the bedroom door but she could hear him faintly speaking with JARVIS. 

When Steve returned he was carrying bags from a nearby Chinese restaurant. He found Tamara stretched out on the bed with James, her head resting on his shoulder. He set the bags on the nightstand, then began to distribute the food. Tamara’s stomach rumbled hungrily as the smell of Sesame Chicken filled the air.

Before sitting down on the bed to join Tamara and James, Steve set an ICER down on the dresser. Tamara noticed and frowned, wondering why he was carrying it in the tower. When James tossed another ICER to him, she grew even more confused. Neither man spoke a word to her and finally she could take the silent disapproval no longer. “Enough with the cold shoulder. What’s eating you two?”

“You put yourself at risk today.”

Tamara sighed. “James, it was nothing. Just a guy who thought he had the right to treat his girlfriend like property. I couldn’t stand by when he hit her for spilling a drink. Nobody else was doing anything.”

“She OK?” Steve knew how Tam felt about abusive people. 

“Yeah, I called Matt to come pick her up. He’s taking her someplace safe after a doctor checks her out. Look I’m sorry. All I wanted to do was say something, so maybe he would treat her nicer. Instead he shoved a chair at me and took a swing. Wasn’t a fair fight at all.” Tamara laid one hand on Steve’s. “I’m sorry.”

Steve rubbed her hand. “Tam, when you were fighting, did he hit you in the stomach or jaw?”

“How’d you know?”

“Cause we both felt it doll. Steve figured out it was coming from you first.”

“Oh, how is that possible?”

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is you were hurt and we weren’t there to protect you. What if it had been someone actually after you? We could have lost you.” James couldn’t keep the worry from his voice.

“James, you can’t always protect me. What are you going to do, confine me to the tower?”

“If we have to!” James stood and began to pace. “We can’t risk anyone taking you.”

“Both of you calm down. Until we know more, I think you should try not to leave the tower.” Steve held his hand up before Tamara could speak. “However, if you do need to go out, you take security with you and you wear an earwig. I also want you carrying an ICER when you go out.”

Tamara sat back against the headboard. “Sounds reasonable. But the two of you have to agree to go see the Professor with me. Let him look into this bond of ours.”

“Fair enough.” James stopped pacing as Steve spoke. “James will cooperate, won't you?”

James just nodded, then sat down, pulling Tamara close. Relieved that the issue was settled for now, all three began to eat. Her hunger finally sated, Tamara curled up to sleep, bracketed by James and Steve.

~~~~

Several days later, James followed Tamara and Steve into a large library. He was surprised to find a small group of people waiting for them. He stayed close to Tamara as she crossed the room but he couldn’t stop from scowling when Remy hugged her. James took a seat beside Tamara and let himself drift, barely listening as Tamara chatted with the Professor and Remy. It was only when he heard his name that he began to pay closer attention.

“James, the Professor is willing to help you look for triggers if you want. I promise he won’t hurt you.”

James was torn, he didn’t like the idea of anyone messing with his mind but he was also worried about HYDRA trying to reactivate him. Reluctantly, he nodded his head.

Everyone but Steve and Tamara left the room and they bracketed James, leaning into him to give him support. After several minutes of silence, James began to feel a headache developing and he shook his head in annoyance. 

Professor X rubbed his temples with his fingers. “They have trained him to resist mental contact. I can force my way through the resistance but not without causing him pain. However, I may be able to use the bond the three of you share to slip past the resistance. How much have you explored this bond?”

“None really. The other day both of them knew when I’d been in a fight, they said they felt me get hurt. But all I pick up is vague emotions. And that could just be learning their body language.”

“Hmm, let’s try some exercises then. We’ll start with Tamara and see how developed your bond is. I’m going to give you images and I want you to try to project those same images to both of them.”

Tamara nodded and relaxed, allowing the Professor access to her mind. For several minutes, he supplied her with simple images and she focused on Steve and James, trying to pass the images along. Steve got the image close over half the time but James was always at least partially right. 

When it came to Steve, he was able to send images successfully to both of them over half the time. The Professor knew it would be useless to attempt the same exercise with James, given his resistance to mental contact. 

Charles took a break when supper arrived, allowing the men to eat in silence. However, he and Tamara continued to discuss the problem. _“It is possible I may be able to get through his walls when he is asleep. It would be easier to reach him if he were here.”_

_“We could stay the night. I can tell James it's because I want him to get to know Remy and Logan better. He's very jealous when anyone he doesn't know gets close.”_

_“Yes, Remy mentioned his reaction. Are you sure you are safe with him?”_

_“He hasn't tried to hurt Steve and they spar every day. He always stops when Steve does. I'm less of a threat than Steve. He told Steve the Soldier views me as an asset to protect.”_

_“I'll keep that in mind. Perhaps he might enjoy some time in the gym before going to bed. The physical exertion could help him sleep better.”_

Tamara noticed Steve watching and she glanced at Charles, nodding her head slightly. Steve knew this meant she had been speaking with Charles so he waited to see what had been decided.

“James, we need to know what you want to do if the Professor does find any triggers. Obviously, he'll remove or block them if he can.” Tamara waited for a response but James didn't offer any. “Sometimes the triggers are buried too deep to remove or block without danger, so in those cases, he sets up new orders to over ride anything else.”

James set his plate down. “Like what?”

Charles set his cup of tea on the table. “You can do one of two things, the choice is yours. You can be given a location to return to, one where you will be safe until you can be deactivated. Or you can choose someone you feel safe giving control over to. You would feel compelled to seek out this person as your handler and would only respond to orders from them.” 

“If I chose my own handler, could Hydra do anything to regain control?”

“I can bury the instructions so deep that even if they were to try to mind wipe you again, it could not remove them.”

James grew quiet but Steve wasn’t. “Are you sure they can't remove your instructions?”

“I have reprogrammed several mutants that were under the control of HYDRA. Even though HYDRA has attempted to regain control of several of those mutants, so far, they have failed. I cannot guarantee they will never succeed, but a large portion of the success is determined by the trust of the individual. James would still have some free will but until he reached his objective and was released, he would be compelled to follow the programming.”

“I'll think about it.”

Steve could tell by the way James sat that it was useless to try to discuss this more. Not until he had made a decision. After supper, the three of them joined Remy and Logan in the gym. James started to follow Tamara as she headed for an open mat with Remy but Steve laid a hand on his shoulder. Taking the hint, James joined Steve on a bench by the wall. He was a bit surprised to see Remy toss a wooden staff at Tamara before stepping onto the mat across from her. They watched silently as the two of them moved into positions at opposite corners of the mat. For the next half hour, Remy and Tamara sparred, neither one holding back on strikes. 

When Remy and Tamara were finished, she sat and watched as Steve and James sparred. When the two of them finished, James was surprised to find the young dark-haired man who spoke Russian waiting for them. 

“May I spar with you, comrade?” Piotr was curious about the metal arm and he was one of the few people not likely to be at risk of injury from sparring with James.

James glanced at Steve, unsure about this young man. Before Steve could respond, he was surprised to see the man change, his body now appearing to be made of metal. Piotr held out his hand, waiting and James took it after his initial shock wore off. He hid his surprise when he discovered the hand did feel like metal, although it was warm to the touch. Steve stepped off the mat, leaving James and Piotr alone. James waited to see what the other guy would do and when Piotr swung a massive fist, he blocked it without thinking. Once he realized that neither of them could seriously hurt the other, he grinned. It was only when the blond who had accompanied Piotr entered the gym that he stopped. 

“Piotr, the children are waiting for you to finish the story tonight.”

“My apologies, but I promised to help my sister with the little ones this week.”

James just nodded and followed him off the mat, joining Steve and Tamara. Tamara led them not upstairs but to a different hallway in the basement. Opening a door, she revealed first an open room with a seating area and TV. Another door led to the bedroom with a bed large enough for all three of them to sleep comfortably and with an attached bathroom, complete with a spacious shower.

“These rooms are soundproof but can be monitored, it’s just turned off right now. They use them for guests like us or when mutants are adjusting to freedom.” Tamara sat on the bed and removed her shoes. “I thought James might be more comfortable a bit further away from the children.”

As she walked towards the bathroom, she began to strip, leaving a trail of clothes behind. “Are you joining me?” She stopped at the bathroom door to glance at Steve and James before entering the shower. Both men hurried to strip as well, leaving a pile of clothes on the floor.

Tamara was already lathering her hair with shampoo when she felt hands join hers. James ran his metal hand down her back as Steve kissed her, then he turned her to steal a kiss himself. They handled her gently, alternating between washing themselves and teasing her with kisses and gentle caresses.

When she turned the shower off, James wrapped her in a fluffy towel and carried her into the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. “I wanna touch you tonight.”

Tamara just nodded as Steve joined them on the bed. He sat bottles of water on the nightstand, taken from the small refrigerator in one corner of the room. He opened a duffel bag he recognized as belonging to Tamara and realized she had brought clean clothes for all of them, along with a few extra goodies.

James wanted to touch Tamara, make her fall apart but he hesitated. “I need to ask you something first.” When Tamara sat up and took his metal hand in hers, it gave him the reassurance he needed. “Will you be my handler Tam? You and Steve are the only ones I trust.” 

Tamara was stunned. She had expected James to decide on a handler but she was sure he'd ask Steve. “Why me? Why not Steve?”

“If HYDRA tries to get me back, I think they'd do it during a fight. Steve don't need that distraction. You don't get into battle much so it'd be less distracting for you. But I decide the terms of reprogramming.”

Tamara just nodded, he was handling this better than she expected.

“I want you to be my handler but Steve can be backup. In case something happens on a mission without you. And unless one of you gives me different orders, I want to be assigned to protect my handler.”

Steve relaxed, it was clear James had thought about his options. “That’s reasonable. But how do we release you from the Winter Soldier programming?”

“The two of you decide that. If you don't tell me, then I can't reveal it to anyone.” His right hand trembled slightly and Tamara knew this was difficult for him.

She reached out and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him without a word. When James began to relax, she loosened her hold, just enough to lean down and start kissing her way down his chest. James closed his eyes and lay back against the pillows, trusting her completely as she worked her way down, stopping only to nip at one nipple while her hands continued to explore his body. He expected her to move lower so he was surprised when she stopped.

“Roll over James. Steve, can you hand me the oil from my bag?”

James rolled over and crossed his arms, pillowing his head on them. He heard the pop of the cap opening on the oil and then felt it drizzle across his back as Tamara’s knees came to rest on each side of his waist. Tamara’s hands began to work on his back, spreading the oil and working it into his skin. Her fingers kneaded the tense muscles as he began to slowly relax. When she stopped and moved away, he took the opportunity to roll over.

“Feeling better?” Her hands began to rub his chest, working the last of the oil into his skin.

“Mmmmm” was his only response as Tamara continued to massage him. He started to get up when she stopped but a hand laid lightly on his chest stopped him. 

When she took Steve’s hand and pulled him closer, he lay down beside James to be treated to a massage of his own. James lay quietly, happy just to be close to both of them. Tamara loved times like these when they were both relaxed and they could forget for a few minutes about how much they had gone through while they were separated. As her hands worked on Steve’s back, she reached out to Charles as well. _“Professor, James asked me to be his handler, with Steve as a backup.”_

_“You seem worried.”_

_“I am. I don’t know if I can give him orders, I don’t want to hurt him.”_

_“Then think of it as protecting him. If he is listening to you, then HYDRA can’t hurt him.”_

_“I guess that would help. He wants to have standard orders to protect his handler as well. As for releasing him, I was thinking maybe use our bond. Make it so he must have physical contact with one of us but also needs our love broadcast through the bond. We can all broadcast and pick up feelings pretty well. Give me at least a half hour before you try to reach him to change the programming.”_

_“An interesting idea and one that no one but you and Steve could accomplish. I’ll check on him in around forty-five minutes.”_

Tamara wiped her hands off carefully before reaching into the bag again. She opened a bottle of lube and poured a generous amount into her hand, then spread it between both hands as she moved to kneel between her soulmates. 

James was torn, Tamara’s hand wrapped around him felt so good but he wanted to touch her. He opened his eyes to see that she was working a hand around each of their cocks. Steve had his left hand resting on her right thigh, caressing her skin as she worked. 

James gave a low needy whine as her hand worked his cock. “C’mere doll. Want you.”

Tamara saw Steve nod so she stopped teasing, allowing the two of them to separate. James pulled her down beside him and rolled over to kiss her, slipping his tongue between her lips as his metal hand found her breasts. Tamara shivered at the feel of cool metal against her nipple as James began to tease her.

As she was distracted by James, Steve was busy too. He slipped off the bed and moved to kneel between her legs, spreading them to open her to him. He licked slowly up to her clit, before moving one hand to tease it with his thumb as his tongue plunged inside her. The bottle of lube lay forgotten by Tamara but not forgotten by Steve.

James moved his metal hand down to take Steve’s place teasing her clit, his mouth now busy sucking a breast. Tamara moaned in delight as the two men teamed up to bring her close to orgasm. Steve opened the lube and squirted some on his left hand before bringing her left leg to rest over his shoulder. With her ass now exposed, his fingers circled her hole several times before pressing lightly as he continued to tongue her pussy. He felt her begin to quiver and he backed off, pushing James’s hand away from her clit.

“Whadda ya want doll?” His right hand lazily stroked his own hard cock.

“James, please.” When James started to reach for her clit again, Steve pushed his hand away as Tamara arched her back off the bed. “Fuck me, James, please.” She couldn’t hide the wanton desire in her voice.

James hesitated but when Steve moved away, he took his place between Tamara’s legs. “You got condoms?”

Tamara trembled as James’s hands stroked her thighs. “Don't need them. Want to feel you.” When James still hesitated, Tamara growled, “One of you fuck me now!”

James responded to the command without thinking, pushing his hard cock into her. He was barely in when he stopped, afraid of hurting her. Tamara tried to wrap her legs around him, to pull him deeper but he was too far away. 

Steve gave James a push. “She said to fuck her, not just sit there.” 

James responded by slowly pushing in until he was fully seated. Tamara wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked against him as he began to finally fuck her. His hands gripped her hips as he began to fuck her harder. James’s eyes closed as he felt Tamara tighten around him. With a shout, he came hard, burying himself in her body as Tamara’s hands caressed his back. When James collapsed on the bed beside her, Tamara reached for Steve. 

He lifted both her legs and laid them across his thighs as he pulled her into his lap. Sliding into her warmth, he leaned down to kiss her. Tamara wrapped her arms around him as he slid one hand behind her back, pulling her upright in his lap. She ground against him as he moved, not quite providing enough friction against her clit. His lips moved lower, stopping to nip and suck at a breast as his free hand slid between them to squeeze the other breast. “I wanna watch you touch yourself.”

Tamara slid one hand between them, sliding her fingers around her clit as Steve fucked her. He laid her down gently and brought one leg up to rest against his shoulder. She was reduced to wordless moans as James rolled over and propped himself on one arm to watch her fall apart. Steve pulled her ass off the bed, changing the angle of his thrusts. As he felt his balls tighten, he could feel her pussy squeezing his cock. Her orgasm washed over her as he thrust hard, emptying himself into her body with a muffled groan.

James staggered to the bathroom and wet several washcloths, bringing them back to the bed. He handed one to Steve as he withdrew from Tamara, then gently cleaned Tamara off with another. Steve gathered the dirty washcloths and tossed them in a basket in the bathroom before returning to the bedroom. 

Tamara and James were finishing off bottles of water when Steve returned. He took the last bottle and drank it as Tamara pulled the blankets off the bed, leaving only a light sheet. Steve and James both pulled on clean underwear as Tamara pulled out clean clothes of her own and dressed. 

By now, the three of them were used to sharing a bed, Tamara in the middle. She climbed into bed as James joined her, lying on her left side. Steve turned off the light, then came to lie down on her right side. He pulled the sheet up as Tamara rolled over to cuddle James. James pulled her hand up to kiss it, then held it against his waist. Steve spooned her from behind, nuzzling the back of her neck as they drifted off to sleep.

Upstairs in his office, Charles reached out to find that James was indeed relaxed enough for him to slip past his walls. He found several trigger words, buried deep within James’s psyche. Seeing that it took all the words, in the proper order, and spoken in Russian, he made the necessary changes to fulfill James’s request, adding in the instructions to use the minimum force necessary to escape HYDRA control. Knowing they could not test the instructions until the next day, he went to his own bedroom.

The next morning found the three of them sleeping peacefully when Remy came to bring breakfast down. He knocked at the door, waking Tamara who slipped quietly from the bed and dressed. 

“Morning ‘cher.”

“Morning Remy.” She opened the door wide to allow him to push the cart inside as Steve and James were dressing in the bedroom. 

“Charles says you should take them to the Danger Room after breakfast. He wishes to test if the new programming was successful.”

Steve and James entered the main room as Remy handed Tamara a tray of food. Remy took a seat beside Tamara, sipping from a mug as Steve picked up one of the extra trays of food. They ate quietly until Tamara had finished her breakfast. “Charles sent word that he was able to alter your programming. Now we just need to test it. We’re going to test it here, if the changes were successful, then we can go home.”

James froze, he hadn’t known it would be such a quick process. Tamara noticed the change and reached a hand out to him. “If it doesn’t work James, we can stay here longer. But the sooner we change your response to the triggers, the better.”

James just set his tray down, knowing Tamara was right and hating it at the same time. “Let’s get it over with.”

“Are you sure?” Steve was concerned about how testing the triggers might affect James.

“The longer we wait, the worse this is gonna be.”

Tamara set her tray back on the cart with James’s half-finished tray of food. She took his hand and led him out the door and through the hallways to the Danger Room. She expected the Professor but not Piotr, Kurt, or Logan who were also waiting.

“Good morning James, Tamara. I trust you slept well.”

James shifted restlessly, and Tamara stroked his hand with her thumb. “So what’s the plan?”

“Cerebro has been programmed to set the Danger Room up to resemble a typical city. I want Tamara to take James into the simulation. At some point, an attempt will be made to trigger James.”

“What about Steve?”

“Steve will enter the simulation with the others before the two of you enter, Cerebro will disguise them as ordinary people. If the reprogramming fails, Kurt will teleport Tamara out and the others will move in to contain James. If it becomes necessary, I can release a sedative into the room that will take down James but I would prefer to avoid that option.” Charles turned his wheelchair to face James as the other men entered the simulation. “This will be difficult for you. But I can promise that no matter what you see in the simulation, no one will be harmed. Even if you think you have killed someone, remember these are only holographic constructs. They are not real people, no matter how real it feels.”

James gripped Tamara’s hand tighter and she squeezed it gently. The doors opened before them and she led a reluctant James inside onto what resembled a busy, late-night city street. People from all walks of life hurried past as James gawked at the transformation. Tamara slipped her arm inside his, leaving them looking like any other couple walking around. James was taken aback at first but then he pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders protectively.

_“Tamara, lead him down towards the cafe. Kurt is going to pull you away from James but he will look very different. The others are posing as customers in the cafe, everyone else is a construct. You will be safe but James must fear for your safety long enough for the trigger words to be said.”_

_“I understand.”_

Tamara did as instructed and walked slowly down the street towards the cafe. Even disguised, she recognized Remy and Logan by the way they carried themselves but she forced herself to ignore them. They passed the cafe and she was beginning to wonder when Kurt would make his move. Suddenly, she was jerked away from James and something cold was pressed against the back of her head and a hand covered her mouth, cutting off her scream.

Tamara froze, forgetting for a second that this was not real. Under the illusion of his holographic projector, Kurt wrapped his tail around Tamara’s wrist in reassurance as he tugged her into a dark alley, out of sight of the cafe. James charged into the alley after them, forgetting this was just an exercise because of the rush of fear he had felt from Tamara.

Kurt moved his hand and the cold sensation moved around to her temple, revealing what appeared to everyone to be a gun. James froze as several more men moved into the alley, blocking his escape. “If you attempt to fight, I will not hesitate to shoot her.”

James held his hands up and two of the men approached with cuffs like those used to restrain Steve in Washington. His hands were clamped together, then a third man approached, holding a paper in his hands. He stopped before James and began to read aloud in Russian, pausing after each word. “Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car.”

Tamara watched as James struggled, desperation on his face as the hated words were read aloud. At the last word, he stopped and looked at the construct with a blank face. “Ready to comply.”

“In the cafe around the corner sits a man in a dark gray suit. Execute him.”

The constructs holding him released his arms and one unlocked his restraints as the other held out a pistol. James took the pistol and checked the rounds, then flew into action, shooting several of the constructs. Kurt released his grip on her and seemed to disappear through a door, although Tamara could still feel his tail around her wrist. James stopped in front of Tamara and studied her for a few seconds. “What are my orders?”

“Escort me back to my quarters.” 

James took up a position at Tamara’s side, gun held low to conceal it. Kurt released his hold on Tamara’s wrist as she began to walk toward the street, turning back the way they had entered to find the landscape had changed. She spotted Steve waiting outside the cafe. James flinched at the sight of him but he kept the weapon down by his side as Tamara leaned into his embrace. Steve wrapped an arm around Tamara, pulling her close and James moved to walk behind them. Steve guided Tamara out of the Danger Room and back towards the room they had shared the night before. 

James insisted on verifying the room was secure before he motioned the two of them inside. Once inside, he stood awaiting further orders.

“Sit on the couch, lay your weapon on the table and close your eyes. You are not to move until instructed to. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” James moved to do as he was ordered. Once he was seated with his eyes closed, Tamara crossed the room to sit down beside him. Steve followed her lead, moving to the opposite side. Steve laid one hand on James’s thigh and he trembled, although he followed orders and sat with his eyes closed. 

Tamara wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close as she could, letting him feel her love through their bond. “Come home to us James. Let the soldier go.”

She gradually felt James relax, then he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and burying his face in her neck. “It worked?”

“It worked James, you’re safe. No one will ever make you do things you don’t want to. You’re safe.” She let her hand stroke his back, comforting him with the knowledge that he would no longer be controlled for evil purposes.

James held her tight, but Tamara could feel relief wash through him as the tension left him. She could feel him more strongly through their bond now too. It felt like he was finally letting go and allowing himself to be human again, to be loved. She shared a glance with Steve and could see in his eyes, he felt it too. Tamara resolved that no matter what it took, they would never let James forget that he deserved to be loved. She knew that if he heard it long enough, one day, he would believe it.


End file.
